Typographical casting machine



April '1944- J. H. HIILPMAN 2,345,748

TYPOGRAPHI CAL CASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet l y INVENTOH 'April 4, 1944. J H HILPMAN 2,345,748

TYPOGRAPHI CAL CASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18, 1942 .5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR April 4, .1944. I J i- HILPMAN 2,345,748

TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheefl 3 fiflw w INVENTOR A 7g? Patented Apr. 4, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACHINE John H. Hilpman, Springfield Gardens, N. Y., as-

signor to Mergenthaler Linotype Company, a corporation of New York This invention relates to typographical casting machines or the character wherein a composed line of matrices is presented to the face'of a slotted mold, the mold filled with molten metal to form a type or slug against the matrices which produce the type characters thereon, and the type bar or slug ejected from the mold by an ejector blade which advances against the rear edge of the slug.

To enable slugs of different measures to be cast, such machines are provided with a plurality of molds (usually four in number) mounted on a rotatable wheel or disc which is operated by a power-driven pinion. During the casting cycle, the disc is first given a quarter turn to bring the active mold into the casting position and then, after the casting operation, it is given a threequarter turn to carry the mold back to its original or slug ejecting position. When the machine is at rest, any one of the four molds may be-selected for use by pulling the mold disc turning pinion forwardly a limited distance to uncouple it from its driving mechanism but without disturbing its operative engagement with the mold disc. The pinion is then rotated manually to bring the desired mold into the active position and finally pushed rearwardly to recouple it with its driving mechanism. The ejector blades employed in these machines are adjustable in width to correspond with the slot length of the selected mold, and in the more recent models, such adjustment is effected automatically during the mold selecting operation. Improvements in this direction (see the Hilpman Patent No. 2,257,845) include means adapted, as the mold disc turning pinion is pulled forwardly, to restore the ejector blade to a minimum width and at the same time to condition the parts so that the required adjustment of the ejector blade will be effected during the machine cycle immediately following the mold selecting operation. V I

According to the present invention, this adjustment of the slug ejector is controlled by one of the regular moving elements of the machine and is determined by an adjustable stop carrier which is set in one position or another during the mold selecting operation, according to the mold selected. i

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the stop carrier'is rotatably mounted and provided with four stop shoes corresponding with the four molds on the disc and adapted for selective engagement by a vertical banking slide which is connected to the shorter arm of. a horizontally disposed weighted lever controlledby a vertically movable member of the line justifying mechanism. Rotation of the stop carrier is effected from the mold turning pinion by means of intervening reducing gears, and the stop shoes are capable of being individually adjusted toward and from the axis of the carrier to different positions to correspond with the slot lengths of the different molds. The longer arm of the weighted lever is connected through a fore-and-aft rocking lever to a vertically shiftable selector bar associated with the ejecting mechanism and which is adapted in different positions to effect the adjustments of the ejector blade, the latter comprising as usual a series of blade sections arranged in superposed edge to edge relation and capable of being connected in whole or in part to the main ejector slide.

When the machine is at rest, the operation of the weighted lever by its control member is prevented by a pawl carried by the fore-and-aft rocking lever and engaging a ratchet segment fastened to the machine frame; and when the machine is in motion and the control member in rising breaks its connection with the weighted lever, the latter will then be sustained against operation by gravity, through the engagement of the vertical slide with the selected or active stop shoe of the carrier. The parts are so arranged that preparatory to the mold selecting operation and as the mold disc turning pinion is pulled forwardly, the pawl will be forcibly disengaged from the segment and permit a strong compression spring, arranged between the Weighted lever and its control member, to actuate the lever so as to lower the banking slide and through the fore-and-aft rocking shift the selector bar downwardly to restore the ejector blade to its minimum width. As the new mold by rotation of the pinion is brought into the active position, the corresponding stop shoe by rotation of the carrier will be located directly above the slide. The pinion is now pushed backwardly to recouple .it with its driving mechanism and the pawl permitted to reengage the segment. With the parts so conditioned, the weighted lever during the next justification operation will function by gravity to effect the adjustment of the ejectormec'han'ism to the proper blade width and at thesame time raisethe banking slide into engagement 'with the stop shoe to limit the adjustment, the pawl mean while clicking over the teeth of the segment until it reaches the proper tooth to hold the ejector blade in itsnewly adjusted positiorf when the Weighted'l'ever again comes under control of its operating member.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown merely in preferred form, and obviously many changes and modifications may be made therein which will still be comprised within its spirit. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment except insofar as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a slug casting machine equipped with the present improvements Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section,

showing the connections between the mold turning pinion and the ejector adjusting devices;

Fig. 3 is a detail fragmentary view showing the fixed bracket E and connected at its front end by means of a vertical link E to a horizontally dismeans for disengaging the retaining pawl from the ratchet segment;

Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 5 is a side elevation showing the connections between the weighted lever and its control member;

Fig. 6 is a detail vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken on the line l'! of Fig. 9;

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken on the line 88 of Fig. 9; i

Fig. 9 is a front elevation, partly in section, of a portion of the housing for the stop carrier and showing the arrangement .of the finger buttons for adjusting the stop shoes; and

Fig. 10 is a rear view of the parts shown in Fig. 9, on a reduced scale, showing the four stop shoes and their sustaining racks.

As shown in Fig. 1, the machine is equipped with four molds A A A A mounted in a wheel or disc B which is rotatable during a machine cycle of operation by a power driven pinion C, first, through a quarter turn in a counter-clockwise direction to carry the active mold A from a vertical ejecting position to a horizontal casting position, and, thereafter, through a three-quarter turn in the same direction to carry the said mold back to its original position. The pinion C is mounted, as usual, on a fore-and-aft drive shaft 0 and connected thereto through the medium of a coupling member C secured to the shaft and provided with a pin 0 which projects forwardly therefrom into a recess 0 formed in the rear face of the pinion. When the machine is at rest. the mold disc is capable of adjustment by its driving pinion to bring any selected one of the molds into use, the pinion being .slidably mounted on'the drive. shaft C and provided with a handle 0* so that it may be pulled forwardly as before stated a limited distance to first break its engagement with the coupling member C then rotated manually until the desired mold is located in the ejecting position, and finally pushed backwardly to reengage the said member. The gear ratio between the pinion C and the mold disc B is 4 to 1 and the moldsare disposed 90 apart; consequently,.at each complete revolution of the pinion, a new mold will be located in the active position and the recess c in the pinion brought into registry with the coupling pin 0 so as to permit recoupling of the pinion with the drive shaft C irrespective of which mold is selected for use.

. The ejecting mechanism as shown in Fig. 2 includes a main ejector slide D, a composite ejector blade comprising a series of blade secposed actuating lever F. At its rear end, the lever E is loosely connected to a vertical slide E mounted in an upright bracket h and provided with a forwardly projecting rod E upon which the selector bar D is slidably mounted and by which it is supported at a constant level during the reciprocatory movements of the ejector slide D To hold the vertical slide E against downward movement and to thus sustain the selector bar in its different adjusted positions, the lever E is provided with a spring-actuated latch pawl e arranged adjacent the vertical link E and engaging a ratchet segment E fastened to the main frame. Preparatory to the selection of a new mold, however, this engagement is broken as the driving pinion for the mold disc is pulled forwardly so as to permit the slide E by operation of the lever F, to attain its lowermost position and through its connection with the bar D restore the ejector blade to a minimum width (4 ems), the parts as a result of this operation being conditioned for an automatic readjustment of the ejector blade to the width required for the new mold during the .next machine cycle of operation. The means for breaking the engagement between the pawl and segment include a .horizontal rock shaft G, mounted in the machine frame, and an upright arm G which rises from the left end of the shaft G and has its upper extremity positioned directly in front of the driving pinion C. A pull spring 9, connected to the arm G and anchored to a fixed bracket 0, holds the arm resiliently against a stop pin g and in engaging relation with the pinion.

As thus far described, the parts, their construction and mode of operation are or may be substantially the same as those disclosed in the before-mentioned Hilpman patent, to which reference may be had if desired.

Coming now to the present improvements:

The rock shaft G at its right end is provided with a vertically disposed pusher plate G the upper portion of which is shaped to fit the contour of the segment h and is arranged alongside the same'in engaging relation with the pawl e. The plate G (Figs. 1 and 3) is, secured to the shaft G through the medium of a collar 9 pinned to the shaft; and when the latter is actuated by the vertical arm G said plateis adapted to push the pawl out of engagement with the segment against the influence of its spring and to hold it disengaged therefrom while the ejector blade is being restored to its minimum'iwidth and until the pinion C has been recoupled with its drive shaft.

For purposes of testing the freedom of operation of the parts associated with the fore-and-aft actuating lever E preparatory to the shipment of a machine from the factory, said lever as herein illustrated (Figs. 2 and i3). is provided with a "handle E and a spring-actuated'grlp member E whereby the pawl emaybe disengaged from the segment E6 and the lever operated manually instead of automatically as above described. The grip member E is pivotally mounted on the same axis as that of the pawl and is connected to the pawl by means of a pin e which is arranged in a slot e formed in the pawl so as to permit its operation by the pusher plate G In the embodiment herein illustrated, the oper ation of the horizontal lever F, both in restoring the ejector blade to its minimum width and later in effecting its adjustment to the proper width, is controlled from a heavy fore-and-aft lever H forming part of the line justification mechanism and which is movable in the usual way during each machine cycle of operation, first, upwardly under powerful spring pressure to justify the composed matrix line and, then, downwardly by a cam on the main drive shaft to its original or inactive position after the justifying operation. The lever F (Fig. l) is .pivotally supported between its ends in a fixed bracket secured to the machine base frame, and is operable by a spring J which is held under compression by the justification lever B" when the latter is inactive. The spring J (see Figs. and 6) is enclosed in a tubular casing J arranged directly below the front end of the lever H and formed integrally with an arm J hingedly mounted adjacent the upright arm G on the rock shaft G. The arm J extends rearwardly from the shaft G so as to engage, from above, 2. lug y projecting laterally from a link J which connects the free end of the shorter arm F of the horizontal lever F with a vertical banking slide J associated with an adjustable stop device presently to be described. The compression of the spring J by the lever H is effected through the medium of a plunger J (Fig. 5) arranged within the casing J and projecting beyond the upper end thereof to carry an anti-friction roller 1 which is disposed in engaging relation with a corresponding wear plate It fastened to the lever H. A pin 7' mounted transversely in the casing J and passing through a vertical slot in the plunger, prevents twisting of the latter in the casing and maintains the roller 9' in the proper angular position relatively to the wear plate h. To regulate the vertical position of the plunger J and sustain the roller 7' at the level required to insure proper compression of the spring J, the stem portion of the plunger, which projects through the bottom of the casing J is provided with a pair of adjustable banking nuts 9' adapted to engage the bottom of the casing when the spring is extended.

Since the lever F is locked against the influence of the spring J during the normal operation of the machine by the engagement of the .pawl c with the segment E the plunger J at the time of justification will move idly within the casing J first, upwardly by the spring J a distance determined by the banking nuts 7' as the lever H rises and, then, downwardly a corresponding distance by the lever H as the latter resumes its normal position. However, when the mold disc pinion C is pulled forwardly preparatory to the selection of a new mold, and when the pawl e by operation of the rock shaft G is disengaged from the segment E the spring J will react against the lever H through the plunger to push the arm J 2 downwardly and rock the lever F in the appropriate direction to restore the ejecting mechanism to its neutral setting and also to lower the slide J to the inactive position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. Then, after the selection of the mold and as the lever H rises during the next machine cycle, the lever Fwill be permitted to rock by gravity in the opposite direction to effect an adjustment of the ejector mechanism which will correspond with the slot length of the newly selected mold.

This ejector adjustment, according to the present invention, is determined by an adjustable stop carrier K equipped with four stop shoes K K K K (Fig. 10) which correspond, respectively, with the four molds A A A A and are adapted by adjustments of the carrier to be brought selectively into engaging relation with the banking slide J The stop carrier K (Figs. 1, 8 and 9) is in the form of a gear wheel mounted on a pivot stud K in a stationary housing 0 which latter is secured to the machine frame and is designed to give guiding support to the vertical banking slide J The stop shoes are spaced around the carrier apart and are adjustable individually toward and from the axis of the carrier K to one position or another, according to the lengths of the slots in the several molds. The adjustments of the carrier are effected from the drivin pinion C through intermediate reducing gears K after the pinion has been pulled forwardly preparatory to its rotation in effecting an adjustment of the mold disc B. The gears K are also mounted in the housing 0 on a common axis K and provide the same gear ratio between the carrier K and the pinion C as that between the mold disc and said pinion. Consequently, when any one of the four molds A A A or A is brought into active position by the manual adjustment of the pinion C, the carrier will also be adjusted so as to locate the corresponding stop shoe directly over and in the vertical path of the banking slide J After the pinion C has been pushed rearwardly into engagement with its drive shaft, and as the justification lever H rises during the next machine cycle to permit the horizontal lever F to adjust the ejector mechanism to the proper blade width, the banking slide J will be raised into engagement with the said stop shoe and will thus determine the adjustment. At the same time, the pawl 6 will have engaged the segment E and, as a result, the rocking of the lever F in either direction is prevented and the ejector mechanism will be locked in its newly adjusted position until another change of molds takes place.

To indicate the ejector adjustment, th machine is equipped with the usual slide bar L (Fig. 1) arranged behind a portion of the machine front plate M and connected by means of a long angular link L to the fore-and-aft lever E which operates the ejector selecting bar D The slide bar L is marked with numerical symbols which are disposed one above the other and are visible singly through a small aperture m formed in the front plate M, the symbols representin in ems the different widths of the ejector blade, and one or another of which is adapted to be exposed to view through the aperture m according to the position of the slide bar L and the adjusted position of the selector bar D In providing for the individual adjustments of the stop shoes K K K and K the carrier K i (see Figs. 7, 8 and 10) is formed on its rear face with radially disposed rack portions K and the stop shoes are formed with corresponding teeth to engage with the rack portions. Each. stop shoe (Fig. 8) is fastened to the rear end of a push rod K which is mounted for a limited endwise movement in a supporting slide K and projects forwardly from the slioe through a clearance slot K formed in the body of the stop carrier. At its front end, the rod K is provided with a finger button K located within the front wall of the housing and by means of which the adjustments of the stop shoe are effected. A compression spring K seated behind the button K in a recess K formed in theslide K holds the stop shoe in its adjusted position and resiliently engaged with the rack portion K The slide K (Figs. '7 and 8) is arranged in guideways K jutting forwardly from the front face of the carrier K, and is provided with laterally projecting tongues is engaging in corresponding grooves formed in the opposed side walls of th guideways. To permit access to the button controlling the active stop shoe, the housing-O is formed with a rectangular opening 0 located directly below the axis of the carrier and defined by a plate 0 secured to the front wall of the housing. Adjacent the side walls of the opening 0 the plate 0 presents a scale 0 graduated in ems and which is read in conjunction with a mark on the button in determining the adjustments of the stop shoe with accuracy and facility. Such adjustments are seldom necessary, being made at the time of the original setting or whenever a change of liners is required to increase or decrease the length of the slot in any one of the molds carried by the disc B. In the latter instances, it i customary to pull the dliVlIlg pinion C forwardly and turn the disc until the mold to be changed is located in a convenient position for handling, the ejector mechanism of course, as a result of this operation, being restored to its neutral setting and the banking slide J lowered to its inactive position. After the new liners have been installed, the disc is again turned manually by the pinion C to carry the affected mold to its active position, so that the button controlling the corresponding stop shoe will be brought into registry with the aperture 0 in the housing 0 The button is now pushed inwardly to disengage the shoe from its retaining rack K shifted to the proper position in relation to the scale 0 to correspond with the slot length of the new mold, and then released to permit the shoe to reengage the rack under the influence of the spring K If this particular mold happens to be the one to be used, the ejector mechanism will be properly adjusted in the manner before described during the next machine cycle of operation.

It may be observed, by comparing Figs. 1 and 9, that the buttons K as well as the molds on the disc B are designated, respectively, by the nu meral markings I, 2, 3, 4, the mark for the active mold corresponding with that on the button for the active stop shoe. These markings are useful occasionally in relocating the active mold in its proper position after the disc, for any of the well known reasons, has been pulled forwardly out of the mesh with its driving pinion C.

Having thus described m invention, what I claim is:

1. In a typographical casting machine equipped with a plurality of slotted molds mounted on a rotatable disc adjustable by its driving pinion to bring any selected mold into use, said pinion being movable to uncouple it from and recouple it ing pinion for effecting a minimum setting of the ejector mechanism, means controlled by a regular moving element of the machine for automatically effecting the proper adjustment of said mechanism during the first machine cycle after the selection of a mold, and automatic means distinct from the molds themselves to determine such adjustment of the ejector mechanism in accordance with the slot length of the mold selected.

2. In a typographical casting machine equipped with line justification mechanism, a plurality of slotted molds mounted on a rotatable disc adjustable b its driving pinion to bring any selected mold into use, said pinion being movable to uncouple it from and recouple it with th driving mechanism before and after such rotary adjustment of the disc respectively, and an ejector mechanism adjustable as to blade width to correspond with the slot length of the selected mold, the combination of devices controlled by the uncoupling movement of th driving pinion for effecting a minimum setting of the ejector mech-- anism, means controlled by a member of the line justification mechanism for effectin the proper adjustment of the ejector mechanism dllllllg the first machine cycle after the selection of a mold, and automatic means to determine such adjustment of the ejector mechanism in accordance with the slot length of the mold selected.

3. In a typographical casting machine equipped with a plurality of slotted molds mounted on a rotatable disc adjustable by its driving pinion to bring any selected mold into use, said pinion being movable to uncouple it from and recouple it with the driving mechanism before and after such rotary adjustment of the disc respectively, and an ejector mechanism adjustable as to blade width to correspond with the slot length of the selected mold, the combination of devices controlled by the uncoupling movement of the driving pinion for effecting a minimum setting of the ejector mechanism, means for automatically effecting the proper adjustment of the said mechanism during the first machine cycle after the selection of a mold, and a stop carrier adjustable concurrently with the mold disc to determine such adjustment.

4. A combination according to claim 3, including a banking element associated with the stop carrier, said element being movable to inactive position preparatory to the adjustment of the carrier and to active position in engagement therewith during the machine cycle to determine the adjustment of the ejector mechanism. v

5. A combination according to claim 3, including a lever operable in one direction as the pinion is uncoupled from its driving mechanism to effect th minimum setting of the ejector mechanism and operable in the other direction under the control of one of the regular moving elements of the machine during the machine cycle to effect the proper setting of the ejector mechanism.

6. A combination according to claim 3, wherein the stop carrier is rotatably mounted and connected to the mold disc turning pinion through a set of reducing gears, the gear ratio between said carrier and said pinion being the same as that between the mold disc and said pinion, whereby the adjustment of the disc will elfect a corresponding adjustment of the carrier.

7. A combination according to claim 3, wherein the stop carrier is provided with a plurality of stop shoes corresponding in number with the molds on the disc and adjustable individually to difierent positions toward and from the axis of the carrier according to the slot lengths of the difierent molds.

8. In a typographical casting machine equipped with a plurality of slotted molds mounted on a rotatable disc adjustable by its driving pinion to bring any selected mold into use, said pinion being movable to uncouple it from and recouple it with the driving mechanism before and after such rotary adjustment of the disc respectively, and an ejector mechanism adjustable as to blade width to correspond with the slot length of the selected mold, the combination of devices controlled by the uncoupling movement of the driving pinion for effecting a minimum setting of the ejector mechanism, means conditioned by such movement of the driving pinion and controlled by a regular moving element of the machine for automatically effecting the proper adjustment of the ejector mechanism during the first machine cycle after the selection of a mold. and means conditioned by the selection of a mold but distinct from the mold itself to determine such adjustment of the ejecto mechanism in accordance with the slot length of said mold.

9. A combination according to claim 8, including devices for automatically disabling the ejector adjusting means after the adjustment of the ejector mechanism is efiected and for maintaining said adjusting means in a disabled condition until a new mold is selected.

10. In a typographical casting machine equipped with line justification mechanism, a plurality of slotted molds mounted on a rotatable disc adjustable by its driving pinion to bring any selected mold into use, said pinion being movable to uncouple it from and recouple it with the driving mechanism before and after such rotary adjustment of the disc respectively, and an ejector mechanism adjustable as to blade width to correspond with the slot length of the selected mold, said mechanism including a main actuating slide, a series of blade sections arranged in superposed edge to edge relation, and a shiftable element to connect any selected number of blade sections with the actuating slide, the combination of devices controlled by th uncoupling movement of the driving pinion for shifting the ejector connecting element to a minimum setting, means operable at the time of line justification durin the first machine cycle after the selection of a mold for adjusting the shiftable element to connect the proper number of blade sections required by the selected mold with the actuating slide, and an automatic stop device to determine such adjustment of the ejector mechanism in accordance with the slot length of the mold selected.

11. A combination according to claim 10, including a lock movable to inactive position by the uncoupling movement of the driving pinion and to active position to disable the adjusting means for the shiftable element as its adjustment is efiected.

12. A combination according to claim 3, in cluding a banking element associated with the stop carrier, said element being movable to inactive position preparatory to the adjustment of the carrier and to active position in engagement therewith during the machine cycle to deter-- mine the adjustment of the ejector mechanism, and wherein the movement of the banking element to inactive position is controlled by the uncoupling movement of the mold disc driving pinion.

13. A combination according to claim 3, including a lever operable in one direction as the pinion is uncoupled from its driving mechanism to effect the minimum setting of the ejector mechanism and operable in the other direction under the control of one of the regular moving elements of the machine during the machine cycle to effect the proper setting of the ejector mechanism, and a banking element connected to the lever, and wherein the stop carrier is adapted to limit the movement of the lever through said element in determining the adjustment of the ejector mechanism.

14. A combination according to claim 3, wherein the stop carrier is provided with a plurality of stop shoes corresponding in number with the molds on the disc and adjustable individually to different positions toward and from the axis of the carrier according to the slot lengths of the different molds, and including a fixed scale by means of which the adjusted position of the active stop shoe may be varied when desired to accord with the slot length of the active mold.

JOHN H. I-IILPMAN. 

